1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cylinder in equipment for making printing plates, which is mounted in a frame by its journals by means of bearings and can be exposed on one side.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,925,037 discloses an intaglio plate cylinder which is mounted in side walls on both sides and can be exposed on one side by creating an opening. The opening in the side wall is created by one bearing being pulled off the journal and being pivoted away together with a piece of the wall. The bearing is seated with a tapered sleeve on an external taper of the journal and is screwed to the journal by means of a screw element. In order to be able to pull off the bearing, the screw element must first be loosened manually by means of a tool. Conversely, following introduction of the plate cylinder into the machine frame, the bearing has to be screwed manually to the journal.
The object of the present invention is to provide a cylinder in which the manual effort required on assembly to expose one side of the cylinder is reduced.
The drive movement of the cylinder is used to tighten or to loosen a screw element by means of which a journal can be screwed to the cylinder. During the screwing operation, a blocking device holds the screw element firmly. As a result, a journal can be screwed onto or off the cylinder without any need for tools, nor any application of manual effort, and the cylinder can be exposed quickly on one side.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.